The Painter

Chapter 28

"Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." ~Nora Ephron

~O~

"Do me a favor, Bella. Don't tempt fate."

"Mom?"

"Shhh, baby, I am here."

"Where am I?"

"You are home... You are home… You are home..."

.

Bella woke up with a gasp, her eyes opening as her arms tried to grasp at her mother but there was nothing but air.

"Bella?" Edward was at her side in an instant, his body barely a blur before he encompassed her in his arms, holding her to his chest.

"What happened?"

"You fainted when we told you that we're vampires." Edward whispered in her ear, but was unwilling to release her from his grasp.

"Alice?" Bella shrieked, seeing the catatonic girl standing there with a blank face, eyes dark and void. She didn't respond to Bella's voice, at all.

"She's psychic," Edward whispered, "She's been like that a couple minutes now. You'll learn to ignore it. She'll eventually come around."

"Are you alright Bella?" Carlisle moved into Bella's line of vision and she seemed startled to see him, but only for a moment and then she relaxed.

"Yes, more embarrassed than anything."

"Good. Do you have a history of fainting?" Carlisle moved forward and lightly touched Bella's wrist, tracking her heart rate. He then released her hand and pulled a little pen shaped flashlight to look into her eyes.

"Alice," Edward turned toward Carlisle and he turned his attention to his daughter. She looked impossibly pale and in pain. Her wispy hair flared around her face as she trembled.

"One of the Volturi," she gasped out, shuddering. "Smoke out of his hands, all over me!" Her voice became high pitched and Bella, Edward, and Carlisle could only watch as the poor girl grabbed her hair and started to pull it. It wasn't enough to harm the strands, thankfully.

Edward released Bella and moved toward Alice, cupping her shoulders and forcing her to look at him. He bent awkwardly in front of her since he was so much taller than she was. "Concentrate, Alice. It's over with, now. You never left the room so you're fine. We're here."

Alice nodded, her hands loosening the grasp of her hair but her body was still shaking.

Jasper then rushed into the room, grabbing her and pulling her out of the room and running off.

Bella gasped in horror and confusion but everyone else seemed unaffected.

Carlisle just sighed and sat on the bed as Esme, Rose, and Emmett stood closely in the doorway.

"Are we too late, Carlisle?" Esme asked quietly. She smiled softly when both Edward and Bella turned to her.

"I don't know, Edward, what did she see?"

"Why are you asking him?"

"Bella," Edward braced himself for Bella's reaction. "Sometimes humans have gifts that carry on to their vampire lives. In my case, I was born gifted. I can read thoughts."

"Even mine?" A sharp intake of breath had Bella stiffening as she waited his answer.

He was cold lines in stone as if all of the human softness was suddenly void. His jaw was locked and eyes so thinned that she could barely see the glint of the dark green of his eyes.

Bella didn't know how she hadn't noticed this before.

"No, everyone's but yours it seems." He bit out and Bella relaxed instantly with a small smile.

"I wish I could," Edward grinned. "It isn't as if I haven't tried, but it's as if you shield me."

"Huh," Carlisle mused catching Esme's eye as she just gave a curt nod in agreement.

"Alice saw Alec," Edward said carefully, gauging reactions of the group. "In the vision, he was standing outside the house and watching us. He then used his powers and wrapped his numbing blackened smoke around her, blinding and incapacitating her."

"Oh, my!" Esme gasped, cupping her mouth with her hand as she looked toward the door Jasper and Alice had exited. "That's terrible."

"How is that even possible?" Bella frowned, playing with the fray of her shirt.

"Vampire gifts can range from elemental, geographical, physical, emotional, and so on. Some can move mountains if they want, others can prey on your mind with acute pain without even touching you. It just depends. Jasper, for instance, is an empath so he has an emotional gift and can emote whatever he would like those around him to feel. He is also sensitive to the emotions of others. Her abject fear triggered his protectiveness. He grabbed her and took her to safety."

"We have considered the possibility that you are probably a shield, Bella." Esme grinned, but then frowned as she took in Edward's flare from his nostrils. He didn't want to think of Bella as a vampire. She was already being thrust into a world without a choice in the matter.

They were already breaking vampire laws of secrecy and the Volturi will soon know, especially with, if, Alec was out there.

Edward was surprised he didn't hear Alec or his thoughts, but there was no time t muse over those thoughts.

"Could he be the one?" Esme was vague for a reason, not wanting to give away anything about the three bodies lying in the morgue. She knew Bella wouldn't be able to handle the idea of a rogue vampire killing people.

"Probably, but a better question is why is he here? What if there is more than one and he was here to handle someone else?" Carlisle mused. "It would explain a lot with the deaths that have been coming into the morgue."

"You don't thing he's alone?" Esme gulped. She was playing with the ring on her finger, trying not to panic. She had heard so many horror stories of the Volturi but never had to go to Italy to face them nor did she want to.

"Where there's one, there are others," Emmett scoffed.

"Did you hear him- his thoughts?" Carlisle asked as Esme moved into his arms. He pulled her to his chest as he rubbed down the length of her arms.

"I didn't. My attentions were diverted elsewhere," His eyes flickered toward Bella and Carlisle nodded, lips lining.

"Well, let's keep our senses about us and try to pick up anything possible. I'm going to make a few phone calls."

Edward nodded and then turned toward Bella whose breathing was picking up.

She looked beseechingly at Edward before she said, "I saw the mist before."

There was a gasp from Esme as Edward kneeled down to Bella's level. "That night in La Push; I painted it. I thought it was the smoke from the bonfire but I was much farther away for it to be that."

"I remember the painting. There was a hand reaching out of the darkness- the mist."

"Yes."

"The shadow man, the Wrath… It was Alec." Alice gasped, "Makes so much sense."

"What does Alec want with Bella?" Edward asked to the rest of the family, but no one answered.

"What was he doing in La Push and undetected by the wolves is what I want to know," Jasper said moving back into the room and pulling Alice to his side.

"Maybe they were preoccupied." Alice mused. "Maybe he used his powers of sedation and they didn't even know."

"That's disturbing." Rosalie whispered.

Edward shook his head, "Well, what's more disturbing is where there's Alec, there's Jane."

"We need to be careful but go about our business," Esme said, strongly. She was back to her no-nonsensical, compassionate self. "Let's be mindful but act as if they aren't even there. Let's get Bella home and safe."

"And do some recon?" Emmett beamed? He was bouncing on the balls of his feet as he fisted one hand into his other.

"Yes," Esme smirked. "Alice, try to zero in on our friend Jane."

With a grin and a nod, Alice's sharp eyes became stoic.

"Don't tempt fate, Bella."Renee's words rang in Bella's ears.

Bella's jaw clenched with anger, "I don't want to go home; I want to go with you."

"Well, all right!" Emmett chuckled. "I'm Emmett, by the way. Excuse the rudeness of my family."

With a soft grin, Bella shook the man's hand. She was thankful he didn't squeeze it too tight, like some people like to do.

"I have some clothes she can change into." Rosalie smirked. "Hey, I'm Rosalie. I don't think we've formally met."

.

A/N: Thank you for reading and your kind reviews. I love each of them.